Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 9th Mar 2006 23:28 UTC
"Fans of open source software have been buzzing since Linus Torvalds, creator of the popular Linux operating system, indicated he wouldn't adopt a new version of the license under which Linux is distributed. Torvalds' opinion matters because his program is by far the most popular open source program in the world. In an interview via e-mail with Forbes, Torvalds discusses GPLv3, digital rights management and sharks with laser beams. "From where I'm standing, [the GPLv3] says that you suddenly can't use the software in certain 'evil ways' (where evil is defined by the FSF--it doesn't actually cover the James Bond kind of evil, but if you can see Richard Stallman as a less dashing James Bond, it would be that kind of evil)."
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Member since:
2005-09-11
I will admit that the term "operating system" stems somewhat further in the broader case than what you find from kernel.org, however, what Linus provides at kernel.org is by all definitions an operating system. When concerning Linux as an individual, I find my distinctions quite appropriate.
Linus originally posted that he was "doing a (free) operating system" and with that operating system, he originally only intended on supporting very specific hardware. That of course grew out of proportion -- Linux's portability that is -- and for this reason the definitions fall into place by themselves.
Linux is an operating system; I'm not sure how that can be argued. Sure, by itself this kernel is not very usable, but this kernel is still the fundamental definition of an OS. I speak in the most conservative terms; perhaps that's my scientific side shining through. Given that may be the case, sorry if I threw you for a loop. You actually sounded abrasively disturbed. I hope I didn't come off as being too pedantic. I honestly believe what I said is true, in theory, of Linux. Then again, I can't say I totally agree with the Linux design -- an old progeny of Tanenbaum here -- but forgive me, because that is entirely off topic.